Int'l Marine Underwriters v. Abcd Marine

267 P.3d 479
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 5, 2011
Docket66102-7-I
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 267 P.3d 479 (Int'l Marine Underwriters v. Abcd Marine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Int'l Marine Underwriters v. Abcd Marine, 267 P.3d 479 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

267 P.3d 479 (2011)

INTERNATIONAL MARINE UNDERWRITERS, a division of One Beacon America Insurance Company, a Massachusetts Insurance Company, Respondent, and
Alliance Insurance Corp. a/k/a Alliance Insurance, Inc., Third Party Defendant.
v.
ABCD MARINE, LLC, a Washington LLC; ABCD MARINE, a Washington partnership and ALBERT BOOGAARD, an individual domiciled in Washington, Appellants.

No. 66102-7-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

December 5, 2011.

*480 David Joseph Balint, Martin David Fox, Attorneys at Law, Seattle, WA, for Appellants.

Dennis Michael Moran, William Arthur Keller, Moran Wong Keller, PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

SPEARMAN, J.

¶ 1 In this insurance coverage case, we must decide whether Albert Boogaard, an injured named insured who contractually assumed the liability of the tortfeasor Northland Services, Inc. ("NSI"), is covered by his own comprehensive marine liability policy. Specifically, the question we must address is whether the policy's exclusion of coverage for liability assumed in a contract precludes coverage for Boogaard or whether there is coverage under the policy's exception for an "Insured Contract." We conclude that because Boogaard is not a "third person" under the "Insured Contract" clause, the exclusion applies, and the trial court properly granted summary judgment. Affirmed.

FACTS

¶ 2 Two companies, Northland Services, Inc. ("NSI") and Naknek Barge Lines, LLC ("Naknek") retained ABCD Marine (through ABCD senior partner, Albert Boogaard) as an independent contractor to provide welding services. Boogaard provided welding services to NSI and Naknek at a marine terminal located on the Duwamish River beginning in 2000. According to the parties, NSI and Naknek are related to a third corporate entity, Northland Holdings, Inc., although the record is not clear as to the exact relationship between the companies.

¶ 3 ABCD hired Alliance Insurance ("Alliance") as an insurance broker. Alliance submitted a policy application on behalf of ABCD to International Marine Underwriters (IMU) insurance, and IMU issued a Comprehensive Marine Liability and Ship Repairers Legal Liability policy in April 2000. Alliance told IMU that ABCD did not have any written contracts with other parties and did not require any additional insureds on the policy.

¶ 4 In August 2001, Naknek sent ABCD a letter indicating that all of Naknek's contractors must provide commercial general liability insurance coverage of $1 million, and that the certificate of insurance "`must name and waive Naknek Barge Lines LLC and Northland Holdings Incorporated.'" According to Boogaard, he told Alliance about this letter. IMU, however, contends it never received a request to add any additional insured to the policy and as such, it simply renewed the policy without any significant changes over the following years: 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The 2003-04 policy included no additional insured endorsements for any entity.[1]

¶ 5 On September 29, 2004, ABCD (via its senior partner Boogaard) and NSI entered into a written "Access Agreement" (Agreement). The Agreement required ABCD to (1) defend and indemnify NSI for injuries to all persons arising out of ABCD's operations and/or use of NSI's property, and (2) obtain liability insurance that included an additional insured endorsement naming NSI as an additional insured on the policy:

8. Personal Injuries. User [Boogaard/ABCD] shall be responsible for all bodily and personal injuries to all persons arising out of or resulting from its operations and/or use of the Property, including bodily and personal injuries to its own employees, except if caused by the sole intentional negligence of NSI. User shall indemnify and hold harmless (including costs and legal fees) NSI of and from all losses, damages, claims and suits for bodily and personal injury, whether direct or indirect, arising out of or relating to its operations or use of the Property, except such bodily and personal injuries caused directly from the sole intentional negligence of NSI. This indemnification agreement includes all claims and suits against NSI by any employee (present or former) of User and User expressly waives all immunity and/or limitation of liability under any workers' compensation, disability benefits or other employee or employment-related act of jurisdiction.
*481 ...
10. Insurance. User shall obtain and maintain, at its own expense, public liability insurance for personal injuries and property damage covering User's operations under this agreement, including a contractual liability endorsement which specifically insurers User's liabilities pursuant hereto. Such insurance must have minimum limits per occurrences of $1,000,000 and shall be evidenced by an Insurance certificate provided to NSI prior to commencement of operations. The insurance must specifically name NSI as additional insured and must waive subrogation against NSI (and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and subsidiary or affiliated companies), with the waiver to include any claim relative to policy deductible, and must be primary to any other insurance which may be maintained by NSI....

It is undisputed that neither Alliance or IMU were ever informed of, or provided a copy of, the Agreement.

¶ 6 Boogaard was seriously injured by a forklift driven by a NSI employee on October 19, 2004. Alliance advised IMU of the accident in November 2004. When Alliance representative Tammy Hausinger spoke with the IMU claim manager Dave O'Laughlin about the accident, she agreed that there was no coverage for Boogaard's injuries under the IMU policy. In December 2004, for the first time, Ms. Hausinger asked IMU to add "Northland Services" as an additional insured to the policy. IMU made this change prospectively. The policy in effect at the time of Boogaard's injury included the following provisions:

SECTION I—COVERAGES
COVERAGE A. BODILY INJURY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY
Insuring Agreement.
1. We will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as compensatory damages because of "bodily injury" or "property damage" to which this insurance applies ...
...
SECTION II—EXCLUSIONS
A. EXCLUSIONS APPLICABLE TO SECTION 1, COVERAGES A AND B ONLY:
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this policy, it is hereby understood and agreed that this policy is subject to the following exclusions and that this policy shall not apply to:
...
2. "Bodily injury" or "property damages" for which the insured is obligated to pay damages by reason of the assumption of liability in a contract or agreement. This exclusion does not apply to liability for damages:
a. Assumed in a contract or agreement that is an "insured contract," provided that the "bodily injury" or "property damage" occurs subsequent to the execution of the contract or agreement; ...
SECTION IV—WHO IS AN INSURED
1. If you are designated in the Declarations as:
...
b. A partnership or joint venture, you are an insured. Your members, your partners, and their spouses are also insureds, but only with respect to the conduct of your business.
SECTION IX—DEFINITIONS
...
9.

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Bluebook (online)
267 P.3d 479, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/intl-marine-underwriters-v-abcd-marine-washctapp-2011.